Besan Ka Sheera

One of the remedies for common illnesses like cold and cough is Besan Ka Sheera. It is an age-old effective nuskha from Punjabi households for curing cold and cough. It is prepared with Bengal Gram Flour, Clarified Butter, Milk, Turmeric, freshly ground black pepper, green cardamom powder and jaggery. This sheera which is laced with saffron and garnished with slivered Pistachio Nuts and Almonds is a semi-thick beverage that is known to have effective medicinal properties.

Preparation Time:05 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 to 12 minutes
Serves: 02
Ingredients and Quantity:
Ghee (Clarified Butter) – 1 1/4th tbsp.
Besan (Bengal Gram Flour /Chickpea Flour) – 03 tbsp.
Milk, warm-02 cups
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp.
Freshly ground black peppercorns- 1/4th tsp.
Green Cardamom Powder- 1/4th tsp.
Jaggery, organic, grated- 4 tsp.
Saffron- 1/4th gm.
For The Garnish
Pistachio nuts, slivered- 02 tsp
Almonds, slivered- 02 tsp.
Method:

Heat ghee in a heavy bottomed non-stick pan, add the besan and roast it until it turns   golden and aromatic.

Ensure that you stir it continuously so that it is cooked evenly.

Slowly add in the warm milk and whisk well to avoid formation of lump.

Add the turmeric, ground pepper,  cardamom powder and grated jaggery and mix   well. Add the saffron strands.

Whisk it for approximately 5 minutes, sheera will thicken in no time.

Switch off the flame.

Serve piping hot garnished with nuts.

Chef Tips:

You may add sweetener of your choice, it could be coconut sugar or granulated sugar.

You may replace milk with almond, if desired.

You may replace milk with jaggery simmered in water and strained; this water may be added to prepare sheera. Skip the milk if you are using jaggery water.

You may increase the quantity of jaggery, if you prefer it sweeter.

Increase the quantity of milk in case you want to consume a liquid-like consistency.

If you need to drink water after consuming the sheera, drink warm water only after 30 minutes.